TOWN PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT LAWYERS

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Our Services

Environment
Residential
Government Law & Dispute Resolution
Commercial, Industrial & Mining
Waste Managment
Flooding
Vegetation & Fauna
Contaminated Land

Environment

Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of environmental law matters. We can assist you with matters that involve; vegetation clearing, flood, noise, odour, light and contaminated land.

  • Providing advice and representing clients who have received a PIN in relation to alleged noise and/or odour infringments
  • Acting for large pork and beef abattoirs
  • Poultry farming cases – acting both for the poultry farm owner/operator
  • Defending liquor licensing enforcement actions against pubs and clubs
  • Agricultural processing facilities
  • Low frequency vibration – for example, due to building construction defects or wind farms
  • “Reverse amenity” cases for industrial, commercial and agricultural operations

Residential

Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of planning law matters. We can assist you in a range of appeals and applications to the Planning and Environment Court, including:

  • Appeals against the refusal of a development application
  • Appeals against infrastructure charges notices
  • Appeals against the imposition of irrelevant or unreasonable conditions in a development approval
  • An appeal to the Court against a local Council’s decision to give an Enforcement Notice about a planning or environment matter
  • An application to a local Council (and if need be, a subsequent appeal to the Court) for an extension to the currency period of a development approval
  • An application to the Court to revive a recently lapsed development approval
  • An application to the Court for a minor change to a development approval
  • An application to a local Council for an “other” change to a development approval

Milne Legal has also previously been involved in matters regarding:

  • Extension of the currency periods for residential development
  • Appeals against a local Council’s decision to give a preliminary approval when a development permit was applied for
  • Appeals against the refusal of development applications for multiple dwellings
  • Advice about infrastructure charges and possible applications to convert non-trunk infrastructure to trunk infrastructure
  • The approval of Relocatable home parks
  • High rise CBD buildings, including obtaining planning scheme amendments to facilitate very tall buildings in the Brisbane CBD
  • Conventional detached residential subdivisions
  • Aged care facilities
  • Mixed use residential/retail/office developments
  • Character/heritage building modification, demolition or relocation
  • Waterfront development including retrospective approval for existing structures
  • Innovative, affordable housing developments
  • Backpacker hostels
  • Development approvals on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands
  • Searches and investigations relating to proposed land purchases and developments

Government Law & Dispute Resolution

Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of Government and dispute resolution matters as they relate to Planning and Environment law.

In May of 2017, Milne Legal Principal, Robert Milne, gave a presentation “Mediation in the Queensland Planning and Environment Court”.

  • All Queensland, New South Wales and Commonwealth Courts
  • Planning and Environment Court appeals, declarations and injunctions
  • Magistrates Court prosecutions
  • Land and Environment Court (NSW)
  • Land Court
  • Land and Resources Tribunal
  • Building and Development Dispute Resolution Committee
  • Mediation
  • Case appraisal
  • Arbitration
  • Judicial review
  • Infrastructure charging calculations and negotiating infrastructure agreements
  • Access rights including prescriptive easements
  • Native titles rights
  • Rating disputes
  • Right to Information Applications and subsequent internal reviews

Commercial, Industrial & Mining

Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of commercial, industrial and mining matters as they relate to Planning and Environment law.

  • Compost and waste recycling facilities
  • House removal operations
  • Quarries and sand mines
  • Mineral processing facilities
  • 24/7 logistics warehouses
  • Truck maintenance depots
  • Child care centre approvals
  • Tourist resorts – upgrades to existing resorts and new developments
  • Opposition to proposed mobile phone towers
  • Timber yards and sawmills
  • Tanneries
  • Coal and gas fired power stations
  • Kennel disputes – new approvals and noise from existing kennels
  • Educational facilities and school extensions
  • Art galleries
  • Hospitals and medical facilities
  • Marina and pontoon approvals

 

 

 

 

  • Radio transmission towers
  • Petrol stations and petroleum product distribution depots
  • Smallgoods manufacturing
  • Restaurants and take away shops
  • Music festivals
  • Brickworks
  • Battery manufacturing
  • Paper mills
  • Concrete batching plants
  • Due diligence and audits of existing facilities to verify compliance, and in the case of proposed acquisitions

Waste Managment

Milne Legal provides advice and resolutions in relation to a range of commercial and environmental Waste Management matters.

As examples, some types of Waste Management matters that Milne Legal has previously assisted with include:

  • Providing advice and representing clients who have received a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) in relation to alleged breaches of environmental authority conditions or alleged breaches of the Environmental Protection Act 1994
  • Advice about the waste levy brought in by amendments to the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011
  • Approvals and environmental management of two of the largest landfills in the southern hemisphere
  • The recent approval of a private transfer station
  • Defending criminal proceedings against waste management companies for spills or other infractions
  • Approvals for the reuse of sludge and chemical waste, including agricultural reuse
  • Approvals for waste facilities
  • Incinerator approval and modifications
  • Waste water treatment

Flooding

Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of flooding matters as they relate to Planning and Environment law.

  • Overcoming refusals of development applications due to flooding concerns, whether due to river or ocean flood risk (tidal surge and global warming)
  • Compensation claims for flood impacts, including impacts due to government action or inaction
  • Stormwater drainage disputes, including overland flow agreements and easements

Vegetation & Fauna

Milne Legal provides advice and resolutions in relation to a range of vegetation and fauna matters as they relate to Planning & Environmental Law.

As examples, matters that Milne Legal has previously assisted with include:

  • Tree and vegetation clearing approvals
  • Providing advice about Brisbane’s Natural Assets Local Law 2003
  • Providing advice and representing clients in relation to alleged unlawful clearing

 

  • Overcoming refusals of development approvals based on fauna and flora issues
  • Providing advice about Environmental Offset arrangements and agreements
  • Marine plant removal approvals and defence in Fisheries Act prosecutions

Contaminated Land

Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of matters containing containing Contaminated Land as they relate to Planning and Environment law.

  • Removing listed sites from the register
  • Legal action for landowners subject to contamination and dumping by others
  • Underground movement of contaminants, such as petroleum products in groundwater
  • Redevelopment of “brownfield”  sites for residential and industrial purposes
  • Defence of entities accused of illegal dumping